Longtime customers bemoan impending loss of Jo-Ann Fabrics store in Glendale

The Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts store in Glendale -- a longtime fixture for the do-it-yourself set -- is down to its last thread.

Officially scheduled to close on Jan. 24, the doors could be shuttered earlier if all of its merchandise is sold before then. No matter when that day comes, it will be a big loss for people like Marilyn Sell, a loyal customer for 15 years.

As she left the store on Wednesday, the Mt. Washington area resident said that the Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts was by far the most convenient place for her to shop for craft supplies in the east Los Angeles region. Now, Sell said she’d have to head up to the La Cañada Flintridge Jo-Ann store instead.

“Of course we’ll miss it, it’s ridiculous that it’s closing,” she said. “We don’t need more [apartments], there’s not enough water in L.A. for everyone as it is.”

She was referring to the new six-story, 166-unit apartment building planned for the southwest corner of Orange Street and Wilson Avenue, where Jo-Ann Fabrics currently is located.

The Glendale City Council in November signed off on the final plans for the project, which will include seven town homes along the ground level on Orange and Wilson, with stoops leading to the front doors. The building will also have 52 studios, 73 one-bedroom units, 24 two-bedroom units and 10 three-bedroom units.

Work on the new building is expected to start later this year, after the Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts sews its final sale.

Shel Rasch of Eagle Rock said she was a loyal customer because she liked the broad selection. She would likely now head to downtown Los Angeles to buy fabric, she added.

Fellow Eagle Rock resident Gloria Becerra said she had been coming to the location on Orange for years from her home in Eagle Rock to buy dress patterns.

“I’ll miss this store, I wish they wouldn’t close it,” she said. “It was nice; they had classes for the [dress] patterns.”

-- Daniel Siegal, Times Community News

Follow Daniel Siegal on Google+ and on Twitter: @ValleySunDan.